For those of you who did not know, Elsa Lessard passed away on July 22nd, 2025, at home, having celebrated her 103rd birthday on July 2nd. I won’t go into Elsa’s background as many stories have already been written about her but she was a WWII veteran as a WREN and was employed intercepting German naval signals during the war. Her obituary is on the Beechwood Cemetery site and there will be a service held at the Canadian War Museum on August 11th, 2025, from 1800-2100 hours.
As I said, Elsa has had much written about her life (Veterans Affairs Canada for one article), videos made etc. Her accomplishments, while many, are not what I will remember. I will miss seeing that big smile every time I saw her and the fact that she would take the time to talk to me although others demanded her attention. Always with her perfectly coiffed hair, her already diminutive size was further dwarfed by her big and engaging personality. Although we met at many events, the one that stays in my mind is the Remembrance Day in 2016 where she led the parade of veterans as they did the final march past in front of the Governor-General, so small next to the men, yet marching proudly with pride and purpose.
I will miss seeing her.
